title: Effects of anticholinergic drugs on cognitive function in older Australians: results from the AIBL study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The nature and extent of adverse cognitive effects due to the prescription of anticholinergic drugs in older people with and without dementia is unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  We calculated the anticholinergic load (ACL) of medications taken by participants of the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study of ageing, a cohort of 211 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, 133 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and 768 healthy controls (HC) all aged over 60 years. The association between ACL and cognitive function was examined for each diagnostic group (HC, MCI, AD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high ACL within the HC group was associated with significantly slower response speeds for the Stroop color and incongruent trials. No other significant relationships between ACL and cognition were noted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this large cohort, prescribed anticholinergic drugs appeared to have modest effects upon psychomotor speed and executive function, but not on other areas of cognition in healthy older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Gobhathai
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sittironnarit
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ames
authors.forename: Ashley I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Faux
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flicker
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hilmer
authors.forename: Nicola T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Lautenschlager
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maruff
authors.forename: Colin L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Masters
authors.forename: Ralph N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Cassandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Szoeke
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D019338:Polypharmacy; D012016:Reference Values; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists